I-29 reopens after floodwaters recede along Missouri River

Interstate-29 has reopened on Saturday, Oct. 8, after nearly four months of closures. Truckers should still expect some traffic delays along the route because of temporary lane crossovers that are in place as the Iowa Department of Transportation begins work on portions of the interstate that were heavily damaged by floodwaters.

Flooding along the Missouri River has been costly for many truck drivers who were forced to run more miles and find alternate routes because of road closures on Interstate 29 between Missouri and Nebraska.

DeAnne Rickabaugh of the Missouri Department of Transportation told Land Line on Tuesday, Oct. 11, that the agency is “as excited as the professional drivers and other travelers who have detoured since June.”

“We certainly appreciate everyone’s patience,” she said.

Rickabaugh said that portions of the interstate in Iowa didn’t fare as well as Missouri’s portion of I-29 near Rock Port, which is in “good shape.”

“It only saw water for a few days toward the beginning of the flooding and required little more than a bit of clean up,” she said. (The section) was closed because there was no good place between Rock Port and the Missouri/Iowa state line to turn around and no other major highway connector.”

Dena Gray-Fisher of the Iowa Department of Transportation told Land Line that a total of 48 miles of I-29 were closed in Iowa because of the flooding.

So far, she said the agency has spent approximately $3,556,265 on flood mitigation and flood recovery on I-29.

For now, Exits 1 and 10 on I-29 in Iowa will remain closed while repairs are made to Iowa 33 into Hamburg and Iowa 2 into Nebraska City, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s latest’s progress report on the Missouri River flooding.

The agency is currently accepting bid proposals for many projects to repair damaged portions of I-29.